1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods of manufacturing painted parts, and in particular to methods of manufacturing painted plastic parts adapted for use on motor vehicles such as air bag covers, side cladding, instrument panel cluster bezels, exterior bumpers, and the like.
2. Background Art
Typically, plastic parts are painted after they are molded. The painting process requires elaborate facilities and consequently necessitates large expenses. For instance, significant square footage of a factory must be dedicated to a clean room environment for the spraying of paint and clear coat and for the baking and curing of paint on components, such as those components used in the automotive industry, such as body panels, air bag covers, instrument panels and the like. Moreover, solvent-based paints have in recent years raised significant environmental concerns because of the volatile organic components which are emitted into the air during the application of such solvent-based paints. As a result, the evaporation of such solvents must be strictly monitored to satisfy environmental and safety regulations.
In addition, automotive components, especially interior automotive components, are strictly scrutinized following the painting process in order to match or conform the automotive component to the styling and aesthetic requirements of the associated interior trim product. Painting such automotive components following the molding process, raises quality concerns with respect to the color, consistency, and thickness of each individual paint application.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,557, the Rohrbacher reference discloses a method and apparatus for manufacturing a thermoplastic polyolefin composite useful as an exterior auto or truck body part.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,100, the Short reference, teaches a method of applying a carrier film pre-printed with metallic paint to an automobile body panel in a vacuum forming process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,351 and U.S. Pat. No.5,466,412, the Parker patents, teach a method of manufacturing an air bag cover for an inflatable air bag system including a bondable film carrier, which is painted after the film carrier is molded.
However, the prior art fails to provide a method of manufacturing a painted component wherein the step of painting the component after molding is eliminated and further where the component has the structural integrity both in terms of durability and strength to support varying applications.